Celebrating 100 Years of Compassion
2025 marks a significant milestone: the 100th anniversary of the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League. Since 1925, our mission has centered on rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming animals in need, fueled by compassion and a commitment to making a difference. We take pride in the profound impact we’ve had on countless lives over the years. This anniversary not only showcases our dedication but also reflects the collective efforts of our community. To date, we’ve provided care for 1.5 million animals.
Since 1925, saving lives and building a more humane community, together.
Your Support Saves Lives
Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving Palm Beach County, and does not receive funding from city, state, or federal government.
We rely solely on the generosity of individuals, foundations and corporations to provide quality programs and services to the community.
1925: Our Humble Beginnings
In 1924, a group of eight prominent women met on the porch of the home of Amy Lyman Phillips in Palm Beach to decide what to do about the ongoing problem of animals left behind by winter visitors returning north. From that informal meeting emerged a league of concerned and dedicated people helping animals, and by 1925, we were incorporated and called the Animal Rescue League. Makeshift cages were orange crates, and pens were fashioned from chicken wire at the abandoned TB hospital on the grounds of what is now Palm Beach International Airport. The hurricane of 1928 flattened this modest shelter but donated funds and volunteer labor helped rebuild it.
1940s: Moving to Tamarind Ave
With the onset of World War II, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers required additional acreage to expand the airfield. Rather than condemn our property, the County traded us a larger parcel at 24th & North Tamarind in West Palm Beach. The new shelter had a small building with two large runs for male and female dogs and a communal cat room. The generosity of two individuals allowed for the construction of a building for cats and a cottage. Over time, several other donors stepped forward, affording us a modern kennel building, an annex with large covered runs, a new holding wing, and a building for a meeting room.
1971: The First Christmas Ball
In December 1971, the inaugural Christmas Ball was held and has since been a keystone social event for over 50 years in Palm Beach. The event has raised millions of dollars to support our life-saving work.
1973: Spay-Neuter Clinic Opens
As our work continued to expand, we gave up our meeting room when John D. MacArthur gave us money to convert it into a medical clinic, with accommodations for a veterinarian on the second floor. In August 1973, we started a Spay-Neuter Clinic for the shelter’s own animals, and by December of that year, these services were expanded to provide low-cost services to owned animals in the community. Celebrities from Jack Paar to the Dukeand Dutchess of Windsor supported the efforts of the League.
1973: Thrift Store Opens
With each expansion, more funds were needed for operational expenses. We had yearly tag days, annual Letters of Appeal fund drives, and bake sales. But even with our best efforts, it was a continual struggle. We had occasional rummage sales, so it was a logical progression when we opened a Thrift Store at 1905 South Dixie Highway in 1973. That store supported our programs for more than 40 years until 2016, when the block in West Palm Beach where it was located was sold.
1980: Moving to Military Trail
A bequest from Palm Beach artist Jessie Chardin Stewart, as a tribute to then Executive Director George Hulme, enabled the purchase of the current site on Military Trail in 1980. Catherine MacArthur provided the funds to construct our unique double-domed shelter.
1989: The Name Peggy Adams
In 1989, Charles Norton Adams made a generous financial contribution to start our endowment fund in memory of his beloved wife, Peggy Adams, in return for a change in our name to Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League, from Animal Rescue League.
2011: Opening the Jane and Robert Grace Pavilion
In 2011, our state-of-the-art clinic, the Jane and Robert Grace Pavilion, was built to provide low-cost vaccination services and high-volume spay/neuter services to address pet overpopulation in Palm Beach County. It also served as our adoption center until 2021. Few have meant more to the animals of our community than Robert and Jane Grace. Their generosity has been instrumental in saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals and in making Peggy Adams Rescue League one of the leading animal welfare organizations in the nation.
2021: Renaming Our Campus
In recognition of Mrs. Gardiner’s vision and compassion for animals, our Peggy Adams campus was named the Eunice J. Gardiner Campus in 2021. In 2013, Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League was informed that Eunice, inspired by her love of animals, had created a perpetual trust to benefit the lost, abandoned, and injured animals of our community. Her transformational gift ensured that Peggy Adams would continue its lifesaving work for generations to come and expand its programs to impact and save the lives of more animals than ever.
2021: Opening the Lesly S. Smith Pet Adoption Center
In 2021, the Lesly S. Smith Pet Adoption Center opened its doors and was built entirely through the generosity of donors. It features twice the number of condos for dogs and cats, with outdoor patios for the animals, as well as group play areas and private meet-and-greet gardens for animals to interact with their future adoptive families. The Pet Adoption Center also includes a large volunteer workroom, a general conference room, a grooming room, and a photography studio.
2023: Renovation of the Pet Resource Center and Center for Veterinary Care
The Grace Pavillion underwent a state-of-the-art renovation. The new Pet Resource Center and Center for Veterinary Care has allowed us to improve our medical standard of care and reimagine human and animal support services.
2023: Spay Days Begin
In 2023, we introduced our first-ever mega-TNVR event called Spay Day. Our Spay Day events offer free TNVR surgeries for South Florida’s community cats. By the end of the year, we hosted three Spay Days resulting in over 1,300 spayed/neutered community cats.
